Carbonation by Style vs. Beersmith

[drksky]

I've just kegged a Dunkelweizen and have been trying to figure how much to carbonate it. Usually, I use the Tastybrew calculator which says that 4 volumes is about the midpoint for the style range. However, when using the carbonation tool in Beersmith, it complains that 4 volumes is well above the carb range for the style. The tool goes so far as having a tooltip that says volumes above 2.9 are rarely used.

What gives?

 

[Yooper]

I've just kegged a Dunkelweizen and have been trying to figure how much to carbonate it. Usually, I use the Tastybrew calculator which says that 4 volumes is about the midpoint for the style range. However, when using the carbonation tool in Beersmith, it complains that 4 volumes is well above the carb range for the style. The tool goes so far as having a tooltip that says volumes above 2.9 are rarely used.

What gives?

While it's true that to carb some weizens "to style", it could be more highly carbed, at 4 volumes you'll have gushers for sure, and probably bottle bombs.

Most people who buy commercial beers are used to a regular amount of carbonation in bottled beer- generally about 2.4 volumes.

Commercial beers that are highly carbed, like gueze, are typically in champagne-like bottles and not in beer bottles.

I hate those priming calculators by the way, and I say that all the time! They'd have you prime an English bitter to 1.5 (totally flat) and a weizen to 4 volumes (bottle bombs) while most people would simply prefer the beer to be at a bottled beer carb level.

I use .75 oz- 1 oz of corn sugar per finished gallon of beer. That works perfectly each and every time, without any flat beer or bottle bombs.

For kegging, I can see a bit higher carb for some beers but I still don't like the spritzy "bite" from a too high carb level, and certainly not in a dunkelweizen.

 

[duboman]

4 vols of co2 in the keg will give you something more like a very highly carbonated soda versus a properly carbonated beer IMO.

I pretty much keg all my beers and serve at 10-12 psi which on my set up puts things at about 2.4 vols and a perfect pour. If I desire something a little more I'll bump up 1-2 psi or conversely drop 1-2 psi for something more English.

I do make a hard root beer that gets carbonated at 30 psi but I would never do that for my beer!

 

[drksky]

It's a shame that all the style guide says is "effervescent", which I would say can be a highly subjective term.

Some people can stand a high amount of carbonation like in sodas, but others would drink the same soda and feel like their mouth was on fire.